Gone
by dodgerxrita
Summary: "Diego. We all know that you want her back; but it's been 3 and a half months... maybe it's time you move on with your life?"


The herd sat around the burned out camp-fire from the night before. None of them were acting as they usually would. Crash and Eddie weren't being as playful, Peaches wasn't trying to be with her friends. Three and a half months. That was the amount of time they had spent looking. Searching the island for any sign of her. It was like she'd disappeared. Diego lay by himself just staring into the charred wood and leaves. He missed her most of all. He missed holding her, the smell of her fur, her bright blue eyes, the sound of her purring when they nuzzled or kissed. He missed Shira. Three and a half months without her seemed like an eternity. And the worst part was, he didn't even know why she left the herd. Why she left him...

One day the had woken up. Everything had gone as it normally would the night before. But Shira was gone. She'd just up and left during the night. No-one had seen her herd had searched almost the entire island looking for her, but no sign. It was getting to the point where they couldn't search any more, they needed to move on. They'd looked everywhere for Shira, but hadn't found her. There wasn't much else they could do. They didn't know if she was even still on the island. If she was even alive. Manny had tried convincing Diego to let her go, to move on with his life; but was achieving nothing. The Male sabre wasn't giving up on finding Shira. Every day he'd go out and search for her. Everyday he'd come back more heartbroken.

But what else could he do. To him, Shira was his life. All he needed in life was her. And now with her gone, he didn't know what do do apart from try getting her back. Diego stood up and stretched himself out. He was considerably thinner now; he only ate small animals he found, as all his time was spent looking for Shira. Manny sighed. He knew this had to stop, it was not healthy for heard Manny sigh and he knew what his friend was thinking. What the whole herd was thinking. He left the clearing before any could stop him.

Once Diego was gone, the herd all looked at each other with sullen looks.

"How much longer can he go on like this?" Ellie broke the silence.

"I don't know. I've known him for years and he has never been like this; not even after he left his pack." Manny was worried for his old friend, Diego was strong but Manny could tell Diego was getting weaker from lack of sleep and food.

"We have to do something. Uncle Diego can't go on like this for much longer." Peaches added. The herd all looked at each other in silence for a few moments. They all knew Diego needed to hear the harsh truth, but none of them wanted to be the one to tell him that Shira might not be found.

* * *

Elswhere on the island, Diego was sat on the Overhang looking out on the ocean. The ocean held good and bad memories for him. Almost getting killed by a crazy, homocidal ape. And meeting Shira. Just like the rest of the herd, Diego knew that he might not find Shira, not if she didn't want to be found. It'd been nearly 4 months now and he was no closer to finding her. He knew he had to give up at some point, but he just couldn't. He'd feel like he was letting her down, forgetting about her...

A breaking twig from behind him drew his gaze away from the ocean waves and put his attention on the herd; who now knew who had to tell Diego it was time to move on... Sid.

Sid stepped forward and moved towards the Tiger.

"Hey buddy... How you doing? Wanna go for a walk?" Sid drew out his words, in hopes that someone from the herd, mainly Manny, would get fed up and take over. To Sid's luck, Manny's short patience kicked in and he moved the sloth away.

"Diego. We all know that you want her back; but it's been 3 and a half months... maybe it's time you move on with your life?" Manny was cautious with his words, he didn't know how Diego was going to react.

Diego sighed.

"I know Manny, I just can't, no I don't want to give up looking for her. It is like I am abandoning her. Abandoning everything we had. I don't want to forget about her."

"You won't be forgetting about her. You can't just fall out of love with someone, but you also cant stop your whole life because of them either. It's for the best."

"I'm gonna miss her, but... your right. I love Shira, but I... we've searched this whole island for her and if we haven't found her by now, then I don't think we will. It's difficult to find someone who obviously doesn't want to be found."

For half the day, group sat by the Overhang; Staring at the waves and enjoying each others company. They began to reminisce about memories. Like the herd starting, the meltdown, Buck and Dino land, The pirates and life on the Island so far. As the sky began to darken as night drew in, they headed back to their clearing. As they reached the edge of the forest that bordered it, Diego stopped the herd. He smelt something out of place. As Manny was the biggest and strongest in the herd, he was the one to check out the security of their home. He returned looking a little confused but assured the herd it was safe. The herd cautiously entered the clearing and all stopped in their tracks.

By the burnt out fire, Shira lay looking at them. She acted as if she'd never left, like the last three and a half months had never happened. When she saw Diego she smiled and walked over to him. Stopping in front of him, she nuzzled him. He went a bit tense and rigid at her touch, he didn't know what to think about the situation. No-one just disappears without a trace, or a reason for nearly four months.

"Where have you been?" Ellie asked the tigress.

"Not far, around the mountains."

"Why?" Diego asked her sharply. The sharpness of his voice made shocked Shira.

"If your going to be like that, I won't tell you." With that Shira sat down and looked at him.

Diego relaxed a little, but still kept some of his sharp posture. He didn't want to let himself let her back in fully, just in-case she left him again. Seeing he'd softened his posture -even if it was just a little- Shira smiled at the Tiger and walked away towards a bush. The herd prepared themselves to see her leave again but she didn't. She sat herself down and looked at the herd for a few seconds before growling softly. What happened next, shocked the herd.

Out of the bush, a little ball of orange fluff fell out, followed by a white and black stripy ball of fluff. Diego's eyes widened as he realised why Shira had left. She was pregnant. Both of the cubs stopped their wrestling match and looked at the herd, then back to their mother. The herd was speechless. The cubs looked so much like their parents, they could be the same tiger.

"Mom, are these the ones you told us about?" The white stripy cub asked his mother.

"Mom, who's the fat one?" The orange cub asked her mother while looking directly at Manny.

"Danielle, what did I tell you; he's not fat, he's 'poufy'." Shira scolded her young cub.

Diego hadn't said a thing, he was completely tongue-tied. The cubs had called Shira 'Mom', were they supposed to call him 'Dad'. He didn't know anymore. Shira noticed that Diego was looking extremely confused. She bent down to the cubs and whispered in their ears, before nudging then towards the male cat. Diego looked down at the small fluffy cubs. The orange cub, Shira called her Danielle, was the first of the two to greet Diego; she nuzzled his leg gently. Diego smiled down at her; a grin reached his face when the white stripy male propped himself up on his back legs, leaning on Diego's leg.

Diego bent down so he was level with the young male. The cub gently licked Diego's nose. The herd all 'awwed' at the cute sight. They didn't think they'd see Diego with cubs. The herd left to give the sabres some privacy, only then did Diego make his way slowly over to Shira. He stopped an inch away from her face. After a second of looking into her turquoise eyes, he pushed his lips onto hers. The initial impact shocked her, but not long after she was happily reciprocating his affection. They had missed each other. The cubs sat there watching their mother and the other sabre they'd never met. As Diego and Shira pulled themselves apart, both breathing heavily, the cubs jumped up onto Diego and Shira's back.

"Mommy, who's this?" The male cub asked Shira from his vantage point on her back. He seemed to be the more timid of the two cubs, however Danielle was more then happy to sit on Diego's back pulling at his ear with her teeth.

"Well Jack, this is your Daddy." Jack's eyes went to Diego. Diego's face dropped a bit, he knew that he was most likely the father; but hearing Shira say it made him nervous. He perked up when he felt Danielle lick the top of his head, while Shira licked his cheek.

* * *

The family spent the rest of the night playing, until the cubs fell asleep between their parents paws. Danielle with Diego, she had loved Diego almost instantly and spent all her time following and playing with her dad. And although Jack was growing fond of Diego, he stayed close to his mother for most of their time together; Diego's size and teeth scared him a small bit. Diego took this opportunity to finally speak with Shira. He'd missed her.

"So... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was worried about your reaction." Shira said, almost sheepishly.

"Why? I'm so happy right now. Happier then I've ever been!" Diego grinned

"I can see that." Shira laughed at him.

"I just wish I'd been able to help you through the whole... you know... pregnancy part of all of it."

"I Know. And I wasn't trying to get away from you personally. I was trying to avoid Crash, Eddie and Sid. Sid would probably follow me around and Crash and Eddie would probably find it funny to jump on my stomach!" Shira almost shuddered at the idea.

"I would've stopped them." Diego protested.

"But then I would have felt smothered. Diego, I was fine." Shira licked his cheek.

"So how was the pregnancy? Easy?"

"Pretty easy. It was a bit hard to adjust to the stomach growth part of it... but apart from that, I was good."

"And the birth?"

"Why are you so curios?" Shira questioned Diego

"These are my kids, I wanna know."

"I'm not telling you about the birth... OK?" Diego could tell by her expression that she was not going to tell him, so he just gave up.

Diego and Shira moved Danielle and Jack next to each other, but still close to the two of them, while they lay up against each other. They lay grooming each other, nuzzling, purring and kissing. They didn't really say much; but they didn't need to. They were content in the silence. So content that they didn't even notice the herd slipping back into the cave to sleep. They only snapped out of their trance when they realised how dark it had gone.

Carefully, Diego took Danielle into his jaws while Shira picked up Jack, and took them into the cave where the herd slept. Shira and Diego lay face-to-face, chest-to-chest with Danielle resting close to Diego's chest and Jack by Shira's. Shira fell asleep first, probably exhausted after having to lookout for herself and two cubs for 3 and a half months, while Diego looked over his family. As he lowered his head, he felt movement by the cubs. When he looked over, he saw Jack awake and looking at him. But instead of curling back up to Shira, the little male cub clambered over his fathers fore-arms and curled into a ball in-between Diego's paws. Diego licked his son before lying his head on his right fore-arm (where he could see both cubs and Shira) and fell to sleep. He fell to sleep with an obvious grin plastered onto his face.


End file.
